Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Men's Indoor Track and Field team returned to action after a successful meet last weekend that saw numerous top finishes. The Lancers looked to continue the success today at the Wesleyan Winter Invite as they close out their 2023 Indoor Meet schedule. The Lancers did not disappoint as they again had a number of top placements on the day.
The distance runners were on top form for today's meet as senior Matt Talbot (Belchertown, MA) won the 5,000m distance grind with a time of 17:46.19. Following close behind was fellow teammate sophomore Alex Matsuyasu (Newton, MA) who crossed the finish in a time of 18:32.13 for a second place time. Having an impressive 3,000m run was first year Jacksen Bolduc (auburn, MA) who finished in 7th with a brisk 10:29.82. Rounding out the distance success was sophomore Andrew Stokes (Wilmington, MA) who completed the mile in a 12th place time of 5:35.10.
The sprint squad was also out in force as sophomore Taylor Gavaletz (Dudley, MA) completed a lap of the track in under a minute, crossing the line in a time of 57.28 for 5th. Gavaletz would also record a 6th place finish on the day with his 11.20 leap in the triple jump. Joining him in the 400m success was fellow sophomore Alan Gomez (Clinton, MA) who came away with a 7th place finish in the 400m with a time of 60.23. Furthering the success on the short track was another sophomore standout performance by Seth Boudreau (Douglas, MA) who claimed a 10th place finish in the 200m with a time of 23.82. Boudreau also had top marks in the long jump, landing a 5.48m mark for 15th. Competing alongside Boudreau in the 200m was first years Jax Christman (Lancaster, MA) who crossed in 25th at a time of 25.98, Makarios Kitenda who was just milliseconds behind crossing in 26th with a time of 26.06. Another photo finish came between sophomore Gomez who recorded a time of 29th place time of 26.767 and junior Giovanni Casiano who finished in 30th with a time of 26.769. The lone runner in the 600m, junior Brian O'Leary (Marlborough, MA) would cross in the 11th place in a time of 1:34.12.
The field events were not to be discounted as first year Garrett Papierski (Webster, MA) had a shot put throw of 12.55m for a top five finish. He also recorded a 8.94m weight throw for 15th in the event. Throwing with Papierski was junior Max O'Connor (Dedham, MA) who reached a mark of 10.78m for 13th in the shot put and a 12.8m in the weight throw for a 7th place landing, and first year Daniel Butler (Tyngsboro, MA) who marked a 9.99m shot throw for 17th and 9.27m weight throw for 14th. Competing in just the weight throw on the day was senior Jack Houlihan (Rutland, MA) who topped the Lancer contingent with a 5th place finish of his own after a mark of 12.34m. First year Moriarty was an additional single event specialist in the afternoon, marking a 1.70m in the high jump for an 8th place wrap up on the day.
The Lancers have closed out the 2023 portion of their indoor season and return to action on January 20th to begin the 2024 cycle of meets as they bid NCAA qualifications.